this morning secretary of state hillary clinton's bleak assessment about syria. is a civil war inevitable? what is the u.s. role? my interview with secretary clinton on syria, the 2012 election, and a major announcement from the president just ahead. >> congress avoids another shutdown but with just six days to go the debt super committee seems to have stalled. is there any hope for a deal? we'll talk to the bipartisan breakfast club that just wants to get anything done. and herman cain receives secret service protection after getting threats. he's the first republican candidate to have protection in this campaign so far. it's friday, november 18th. yes, it's friday here in bali and in washington. i'm chuck todd live on friday night in bali, indonesia. mr. cillizza, morning time for you buddy. >> good morning, chuck.

as you mentioned, the president made a major announcement this morning. he announced hillary clinton, who you interviewed, and we'll hear more about that later, will become the first secretary of state to visit myanmar also known as burma in 50 years. i know you just wrapped up a wide-ranging interview with the secretary of state and talked with her about next steps for myanmar. chuck? >> we did. i mean, it is a big deal. the president made this. they kept it very hush-hush. it's something that is playing very well here in southeast asia. and it's where i began my interview with secretary clinton. >> part of why i'm going is to make my own evaluation as to how serious and sincere they are. we are encouraged by some of the steps that they've taken but they have to do more. we've consistently said that. >> what is that more? >> well, they have to release all political prisoners. i mean, that just is a condition. they need to begin to look at

how they resolve these ethnic conflicts that have driven tens of thousands of burmese of different ethnicity into refugee status. they have to have a real electoral system with an open door to political parties and free expression. >> talk about the place in history. does this happen without her? >> i doubt it. i think because she was so steadfast in her support, not just for democracy and for freedom, for political participation, but on behalf of her country, i mean, her father was the leader of independence. it was bred in the bone that she, herself, was what we would call a patriot. and so her willingness to spend so much of her life under house arrest for a principle, for the

values that we hold dear, is incredibly inspiring. if all you do is to say, no, you have a policy of only sticks and no carrots, then the hardliners will decide this reform can't succeed, that there won't be any changes, that reciprocate, so let's try to subvert it. so i think she, others within burma, including within the government, believe that steps toward them as they try to do things which we would want to see done will actually continue the pace of reform. >> i know you've been on this trip, a lot of things happening in syria. can you envision a scenario where it's not going to take the world community either via the united nations to have to do something militarily, ala libya? >> yes. i think there could be a civil war with a very determined and well armed and eventually well financed opposition that is, if

not directed by certainly influenced by defectors from the army. we're already seeing that. i think that what the arab league has done, what turkey has said, has far more weight on opinion within the government and within the society than those of us who are pretty far away. >> so you don't think we'll have a -- that the united states is going to be going to the u.n. >> no. >> this has to be done with the arab league and turkey leading the way for the world community. >> yes. there is no appetite for that kind of action vis-a-vis syria. libya was a unique situation. and every place is i think. but it's not applicable to syria. syria has its own kind of rhythm and what the arab league has done is an unmistakable signal to assad that you're done. >> we also moved and talked a little bit about iran. now secretary clinton at this point, she wouldn't get into any potential hypotheticals, having to do with what israel might do

about these new reports regarding iran's nuclear capabilities. she simply said that the united states policy of doing these sanctions in some engagement will continue. now of course i'm going to have more of the interview later in the show. we get a little bit into some domestic issues. not just 2012 campaign but also that controversial decision having to do with the oil pipeline which of course had to go through the state department, chris. >> you know, chuck, you mentioned foreign policy. back here on the domestic side, the candidate struggling the most with foreign policy is herman cain but we got a little bit of different news. you mentioned in the opening herman cain announced late last night and this morning that he is going to be the first republican presidential candidate in this cycle to get secret service protection. this isn't anything terribly new. hillary clinton, barack obama, john mccain, all of the major contenders typically do get secret service protection at some point. what do we make of cain getting it? he has said that it's about

after some scuffles between reporters and some of his private security but what do we make of it? >> right. well, it's interesting. if they're using the excuse that it's about reporters, that is an interesting precedent to set. but you do know in talking with the secret service they have a very low bar. >> right. >> for this protection. i mean, if a candidate requests and it's a major candidate, you know, not sort of a gad fly but somebody who is performing well in the polls, they are going to acquiesce to that request. they have a pretty large budget. this is fairly late in the cycle for the first part of, for having any candidate have secret service protection but you brought up this sort of back app forth herman cain has had on dealing with foreign policy and i do ask secretary clinton about it later. we'll play her reaction to the 2012ers in foreign policy but listen to herman cain getting into a back and forth with a reporter in new hampshire yesterday about it. >> says, do you really, do you think you have the -- you've

said that you don't need to know the details of foreign policy in order to be a good commander in chief. do you really believe that? yes. who knows every detail of every country of every situation on the planet? nobody. we need a leader not a reader. >> chris, you've written about this. he is going about this campaign in an unconventional way. that was a boon for him i'd say about three weeks ago. if you look at a lot of the polling we're hearing about privately, some of the stuff publicly, not playing so well right now. >> no. i think any time you quote the simpsons in a presidential campaign you're not in great shape, chuck. but we'll hear more from you later and from your interview with hillary clinton. thanks for your time. >> you got it, buddy. >> social conservatives in iowa will get up close and personal with some but not all republican candidates at a forum this weekend. mitt romney, the front run inner

the race, has decided to skip the event and that's not sitting well with organizers. bob vander platz is president and ceo of the family leader hosting this weekend's forum. thanks for joining us. let's jump right into the fact that mitt romney will not be there, c-span, we were expecting they will cover it. they're not going to cover it now. does this reduce the impact of thp event and does it say something broader about how iowa fits into the overall calculus of the republican presidential nomination fight? >> i don't think it reduces the impact of this event whatsoever. we'll have a near capacity crowd. we have over 160 press credentialed. there's a lot of interest in this race right now in iowa and all of the polling is showing that the race is completely up for grabs in the state of iowa. i believe, chris, this is a big mistake of mitt romney not to come to iowa, basically dising this base. not just dising this base in the iowa caucus process or the

primary process, but if he ends up being the eventual nominee, he is going to count on this base to do all the hard work, the door knocking, the phone calling, the things that he depend on. and if that base is not motivated, you know, ask a candidate like john mccain how well that turns out for you. >> well, let me ask you, bloomberg had a poll out earlier this week in iowa that essentially showed a four way tie in the state including mitt romney right there with 18%. slightly behind herman cain and ron paul at 19% and 20%. is there a spot for mitt romney? he seems to think perhaps not. they are keeping it, to your point, they have kept iowa largely at arm's length after he played very heavily there in '08. is this a state that mitt romney can win and what is your assessment of why he stayed, largely stayed away at least to date? >> well, first of all, to answer your first question, it is testi definitely a state he can win. if you look back at 2008 you had romney, guiliani, cain,

thompson, and mike huckabee. mike huckabee was the natural outlyer conservatives could rally around and we launched him out of the state of iowa. this time we have a full field with gingrich and santorum and bachmann and perry and cain and paul all going after a lot of that huckabee base and now romney becomes the outlyer. as you see, romney's numbers aren't moving. what he's doing is being the ceo and saying i'm going to downplay expectations and i hope to out perform and over deliver. but the problem with that is that all of us have figured out that strategy. he wants to win iowa. he's putting a lot of effort in winning iowa but he's trying to do it in a stealth manner. i believe if he continues to miss major events, not just ours, he missed the republican party of iowa event, he'll miss the governor's birthday party all the other candidates are attending. he missed another major event in the state of iowa. if he keeps missing thee events

iowans will punish him i believe on caucus day. >> let me ask you about the fastest moving candidate, upward moving candidate i should say in both iowa and nationally. you mentioned newt gingrich. now, is this newt gingrich -- he has a tumultuous personal past. he's been married three times. this is his third marriage. is this the kind of candidate that you, personally, and social conservatives in iowa more broadly can support? and will he get that support? >> i believe that forum on saturday will be very crucial for speaker gingrich. speaker gingrich and i have had many conversations about his past personal life. and he's often said, you know, if the campaign becomes about his past, he probably can't become president. but if it becomes about the future of america, the vision for this country, then he stands a good chance. >> but should his past be important? >> what he is going to do in that forum, is he going to be transparent, humble, come clean,

show a level of maturity that he's learned from the situation and he is ready to move on. >> should his past be important though? we are all what we've done in our lives. should his past matter? and will it matter to social conservatives? >> there is no doubt. every candidate's past is going to matter. but i believe for those of us who are social conservatives, people of faith, we also realize that the corner stone or the heart of our faith is a thing called forgiveness. we all fall short. we want to know is he truly repentful? he learned? he ready to move on? is he more mature? i believe he's addressed this in a lot of situations. i think he will again on saturday. >> bob vander plaats, thanks for joining us. >> chris, appreciate it. ahead, we'll go back to bali for more of chuck's interview with secretary of state hillary clinton. what she is saying about the republicans running for president.

up next, though, 14 congressmen with nothing in common except each other. they're breaking all the rules. okay. not exactly. but there really is a bipartisan breakfast club on the hill. don't you forget about me. with time running out for the super committee to break its stalemate we'll talk to that group's founders. but first, a look ahead at the president's schedule. lots and lots of meetings all day. takes part in a working lunch group photo. that sounds fun. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. [ female announcer ] the humana walmart-preferred rx plan gives you the lowest plan premium in the country... so you can focus on what really matters. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. so you can focus on what really matters. smal l bu so you can focus on what really matters. sinesses are the smal lifeblood of our communities. on november 26th you can make a huge impact by shopping small

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with all the partisan rancor

on capitol hill, it's easy to miss a small band of legislators from both parties who gather every week at a special kind of breakfast club to discuss not what divides them but what unites them. the group was started by freshman congressman jim renasi a republican from ohio and john carney a democrat from the first state of delaware. they wrote an op-ed in today's "the washington post." they're profiled in the "new york times." and they join me now. congressman, thanks for taking the time. let's talk first about where this idea sprung from. you're both freshman members of congress. how did you get together? how did you form it? and do you ever refer to it as the breakfast club? >> i'll let john start here. >> my calendar it's always designated as the bipartisan breakfast group. but for me, as a delawarean we have a tradition, democrats and republicans, burying the hatchet literally in celebration called return day in georgetown after elections.

and in that spirit, i came here to washington hoping to work with democrats and republicans to work on common sense solutions to the problems that we face. i reached out to jim early on. he and i serve on the financial services committee together. we started this group and we've just started to make some progress. >> now, congressman, this comes at a time when we have congressional approval at historic lows. you have a grim outlook, probably putting it nicely, for the super committee. what can a group of largely freshmen members of congress accomplish? what do you guys hope to accomplish and do you have any tangible signs of success yet? >> it's interesting. i think what we found out of the 12 to 14 members of this group is that we do have a lot of things in common. one of them is we want to make sure that we come down here and understand that we're all americans. these problems that america faces are not republican problems. they're not democrat problems but american problems.

i know when we get in the room and talk in the breakfast meetings it's amazing. we may disagree on how to get there but we want to get to the same place. i think we have to start somewhere as in any goal and the group has started to emerge with not just freshmen. we have some other members who are a little bit more senior and what is really interesting is when i walk on the house floor there are others who now have an interest in being part of it. so i think over all we have many members who believe these are american issues we need to solve and we'll continue to work together and you see that in the room when we have our meetings. >> you mention you're starting to put some tangible things together and i note there are three sort of primary propos ud or promote hiring of long-term, long-time unemployed and creation of pretax home savings accounts for first-time home buyers.

so tell me the status of any one or all of those three. do we have any sense that those will be acted upon in any sort of bipartisan manner sometime before the november 2012 election? congressman carney? >> well, it's hard to say but we have been making progress. we have these pieces of legislation that have been introduced. we're getting sponsors from both sides of the aisle. and coincidentally, just in a meeting i was part of yesterday, the secretary of labor was talking about a work share program that the department is working on that mirrors very much our employee act where we encourage businesses to hire people who are on unemployment, put them to work, give them on-the-job training, and get them back to work frankly. this mirrors something the administration is doing. so it's an opportunity in our minds to reach across the aisle, reach to the administration, to get support for this program as well. >> now, let me quickly from both of you, and congressman, why don't you go first.

let's talk about the super committee. things do not look if you read the quotes and watch body language things do not look positive. number one, do you expect a deal to be reached? number two, what does it say if one isn't? what does it say about congress? >> well, i continue to hear that they're working very hard. you know, one thing about things down here in washington, it always goes to the final hour, which is something i'm not used to in the business world. but i do believe they're working toward trying to come up with some things. i think there has to be some compromise. i know that the republican side has agreed to some revenue increases. so i know there's compromise starting to occur. and i still believe that there will be something that will come out of it. we're down to the last few days. as time passes on i think we'll get closer to something. and i'm hopeful that will occur. >> congressman carney, you share that optimism? >> absolutely. i'm hopeful. i was part of a group of 150 members of the house and the

senate, democrats and republicans, that signed a letter and we stood in the capital just the other day and encouraged the super committee to complete its work with a proposed plan and to go big. we believe that a bigger plan is actually easier to do ironically than the charge of $1.2 trillion. it is the time. we have to do something now to get our fiscal house in order for the future of our country. so i remain hopeful. if they do fail, then i think we as individual members in our respective caucuses ought to put some of these plans on the floor to see if we can get bipartisan support that way as well. >> bipartisanship the name of the game at the breakfast club. thanks for taking the time. >> thank you. up next, we'll get a preview of the day on wall street in our market rundown. plus, we've got more of chuck's interview with secretary of state hillary clinton. what she is saying about the republican field and that famous

3:00 a.m. phone call test she posed to barack obama back in 2008. first, today's trivia question. who was the oldest senator ever sworn in for a first term? tweet us at daily rundown. the first correct answer will get a follow friday from us. that answer and more is coming up on "the daily rundown." my contacts are so annoying.

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the opening bell is about to ring on wall street which means it's time for the market rundown. for that we go to cnbc's becky quick. becky, happy friday and good morning. >> yeah. happy friday. that's what a lot of traders are saying today, too. this has been a bit of a wild week. you see the massive swings that happen. we'll see things start to look a little better during the morning and big sell offs late in the day. that happened yesterday, the day before yesterday, and people are crossing their fingers as we head into this weekend it doesn't happen once again today.

right now it looks like we'll see a stronger open for the bell in a few minutes. looks like the dow futures are up by 60 to 65 points above fair value meaning that's how much they'll open if the opening bell were to ring right now. a lot of this is just driven by what's happening in europe. right now it looks like a little bit of calm coming out of europe today. not as many of the concerns you'd seen earlier but none of the big problems have gone away and people are sitting on tenter hooks waiting to see what happens as we get later into the trading day. you can see some of the protest activity taking place in greece yesterday. it was certainly driving things there. that did create some concerns yesterday. we saw the market sell off by about 200 points but it managed to climb its way back out. there's not a lot of economic news coming out here in the united states today though we are getting leading economic indicators coming out at 10:00 a.m. maybe that could have some impact. you can bet what is really happening is this continued watch with europe and any potential headlines that pop up and that's why people are waiting for that opening bell but then more importantly waiting for the closing bell to see what happens. this has been a bit of a wild ride. oil prices, one thing we talked

about yesterday, they had come down by about 3% but at this point they're picking back up right within spitting distance of $100 a barrel. again, another big issue for consumers and we'll keep an eye on where it's headed today, too. have a great weekend and we'll send it back over to you. >> becky, you too. i'm always impressed by your financial knowledge but not as impressed as i am by the fact you used the word tenter hooks. have a wonderful weekend. >> you too. thank you. >> the daily rundown will be back in 30 seconds.

other stories making headlines this morning clashes with police were a black mark on occupy wall street protests carried out in more than a half a dozen cities. the demonstrations were largely peaceful but at least 300 people were arrested in new york, and dozens more detained elsewhere. a 21-year-old accused of firing at least two shots at the white house has been charged with attempting to assassinate president obama. the charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. president obama was actually in california when the shots were fired last friday. and just two weeks after the penn state sex abuse scandal broke, police in syracuse are investigating allegations of child molestation involving a syracuse university assistant basketball coach. the school has put the coach on administrative leave. the university says initial accusations by a former ball boy couldn't be corroborated but a second victim has now come forward. we want to now check back in with chuck, who's live in bali,

indonesia, for more on his interview with secretary of state hillary clinton. chuck? >> thank you, chris. for the second half of the interview i focus on some domestic political issues, including that controversial decision by the state department to delay approval or disapproval of that oil pipe line coming from canada to the gulf coast of the united states called keystone. that's where we begin. keystone, this decision, no politics involved at all in this delay and could we see the state department approval in the next three to six months? >> well, we have experts who are working on this and they reached a conclusion after having done all of this work and listened to all these different voices on both sides of the debate, that there had to be attention paid to a potential other routing and so that's what they are now about the business of doing.

>> so it isn't, 2013 is not in stone that somehow we're going to -- >> it's a largely technical, scientific process. since i am neither i can't really comment on how long it would take to do properly. >> any of these republican presidential candidates ready to answer the 3:00 a.m. phone call? >> well, you know, i'm out of politics, happy to be out of politics. but i am very proud of the leadership that president obama has shown. he's demonstrated clearly that he's ready, willing, and able to do whatever is necessary for our country. >> not confident in what you've been hearing on the republican side? >> i haven't been honestly paying a loft attention. >> been busy. >> i'm a lull busy, on a lot of airplanes. i think i'll just wait until it plays itself out. >> will you have any role in the campaign? >> no. by law i cannot. i think there are three of us in the cabinet, defense, treasury, and state that cannot participate in politics. so i think my biggest contribution is to do the best job i can for our country.

>> i have to ask about my new colleague. >> yes. >> what did you think when she said, i'm going to become a member of the fourth estate, this side of the line here? >> well, i was a little surprised. but, you know, she decided to go for it and i am very excited for her. >> all right madame secretary. good to talk to you. >> thank you. well, chris, when it comes to promising any extra exclusive to chelsea, secretary clinton said, that was not in the cards. she told a colleague of ours in another interview that there would be no extra special love being given to chelsea or nbc. we'll see, right, chris? >> heck, a boy can dream. chuck, i bless you for asking the chelsea clinton question. i think that's what everyone wanted to know. have a great weekend, chuck. >> you got it, buddy. all right. >> be safe. the president continues his trip to the asia pacific region. as you heard, where chuck is

today in bali. it's part of the world that the administration says is key to prosperity and job growth here at home. so what is the president hoping to accomplish while he's abroad? frank lavin is a former u.s. ambassador to singapore and joins me now. frank, he's talking about a lot of domestic politics. >> sure. >> this is job growth and that sort of thing. what is this really about, marines now stationed in australia. >> sure. >> hillary clinton to myanmar. take me 10,000 feet. what's the goal? >> i think we have a few things going on. one, getting the president out of washington is helpful to them. we have intractable issues, a lot of friction and heat, economic unhappiness. just getting him out is great. having a president act like a president, airforce one, the helicopter, speaking to the australian parliament, terrific stuff. so the constitution gives the president far more powers on the international set than domestic. whenever he gets there that's great. that is i think the big picture. the regional picture is stronger u.s. engagement and concern

about china's rise and china's role in the region. >> right. i want to go beyond that. you know, the president was in hawaii before he went to australia before he went to indonesia. there was veiled criticism of china. how are -- >> play by the rules. play by the rules. >> what do you take from this? is this a change in the way that this administration is acting rhetorically and otherwise toward china or is this more of the same just in a 12-hour time difference? >> i don't think it is a change but a more forward leaning posture or more assertive. that there is a growing concern in washington about the role that china is playing in the region and i think there is also recognition of the fact that although this concern is shared in the region the united states has to show leadership meaning if the united states isn't in front on this issue it's not realistic to expect the smaller countries to be there. >> and the president, i want to -- he said on china -- he was

very forceful about our relationship with them in a way. let's listen to that. >> the notion that we fear china is mistaken. the notion we are looking to exclude china is mistaken. with their rise comes increased responsibilities. it's important for them to play by the rules of the road. >> so you have the notion that we fear them is wrong but the notion that we're looking to exclude them is wrong. >> sure. >> where is the happy medium? >> i think you phrased it right. the singular, political news of our era is the rise of china and the role china has been playing in the national world system. the point is that should not be determined by china on a stand-alone basis. the u.s. has interest. other countries have interest as well. for them to simply assert that this is their territory and that's the end of the discussion isn't a reasonable conclusion from the u.s. point of view.

the other countries in the region have their territorial claims and the u.s. has broad interests there as well. so i think he did a nice job. >> let me slip into raw domestic politics. many people of the former bush administrations particularly george h.w. bush have expressed some concern about the republican field, the gaffes mccain has made, allegations against herman cain, rick perry's gaffes. do you share that level of concern that people like the former chief of staff have voiced publicly? >> yes. >> is what we're seeing right now, you see some people describing a clown show. that these people are not serious. does it hurt the republican party brand more broadly? >> i don't think so. ken is a great guy. he publicly endorsed barack obama last time. i'm not sure he is the right guy to eval yacuate the republican field. these are early days. the united states has such an open system. there is no on switch off switch. anybody steps up and says things. a lot of these folks aren't

schooled in foreign policy but it doesn't mean they're not intellectually up to it or can't provide leadership. >> can herman cain or rick perry or newt gingrich beat barack obama in 2012? >> yeah, look. i think all of them are plausible contenders but i think i would say all of them need message discipline. they're getting greater scrutiny now. they're in the major leagues. what might be a minor gaffe for a business executive or a public figure is a major gaffe when you're running for president. so they just need strong message discipline to get their game up. they've got a year to go to get in that position. >> frank lavin from china all the way to herman cain. >> chris cillizza. >> renaissance man extraordinaire. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. fighting words. herman cain versus the new hampshire union leader. nancy pelosi versus rick perry. and the super committee versus, well, you know what i'm going to say. the super committee. our tgi friday political panel joins me next. and a programming note. david gregory will have an exclusive interview with two super committee members.

senator john kerry, democrat of massachusetts, and john kyl, republican of arizona. but first, the white house soup of the day is, drum roll, coconut crab. again, i've said this before. i'll say it again. it's like having pineapple on your pizza. it's just not natural. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. ♪ i think i'm falling ♪ i think i'm falling ♪ i think i'm falling [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ for you [ male announcer ] this is zales, the diamond store. shop our largest diamond store online anytime at zales.com.

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daily flash back to this day dm 1978 when more than 900 members of jim jones' people's temple committed suicide in jones town, guyana by drinking cyanide laced fruit punch. the tragedy was revealed in haunting images in the days that followed. the mass suicide came just after leo ryan, nbc correspondent don harris, cameraman bob brown and

two others were murdered as they were trying to leave with a group of defectors who wanted to escape the cult. a sad day for nbc and everyone else. back to politics now, herman cain is in the midst of a war of words with new hampshire's paper of record. he was a no show at the union leaders editorial board yesterday but did manage to make time to make an appearance with david letterman in an interview that will air tonight. >> you put in an economic growth plan called 9-9-9. have you heard of it? >> i have heard of it. i don't know what it means. >> 9-9-9. it's bold. you don't even know what it means. i heard somebody say to you how would so and so and so and so be handled under 9-9-9 and you said, i don't know. >> that was one of those obscure questions that was asked. >> but you have to deal with the obscurity when you're president. you dial 999 you get a free pizza. come on. what are we talking about? >> jennifer ruben writes the

right turn blog for "the washington post." and we have a political reporter for "usa today" and jeff i want to start with you. at some point herman cain's great line which i always appreciated is america needs to get a sense of humor. which i actually agree with that platform. at some point the joking about everything he said, how do you say 9-9-9, how do you say 15 minutes in cuban? does this all start to catch up with him? are we reaching a tipping point? >> it's catching up with him now. i think we're seeing his numbers begin to decline. his 15 minutes is up in cuban or any other language and i think now is the time especially on the tail of him saying presidents don't need to know everything. >> yeah. >> it's just a dangerous place now for even gop members to be more concerned with entertainment than substance. and going into new hampshire and iowa they just can't afford to continue to ride this rollercoaster. >> we all know that politics is, you know, equal parts

entertainment or some parts entertainment some parts policy some parts politics but when entertainment starts to overrun it, to your point, i want to play the sound of herman cain in which i don't know whether intentionally or not but he makes a simpsons reference. let's play that. >> who knows every detail of every country of every situation on the planet? nobody. we need a leader not a reader. >> i've narrowed your choices down to five unthinkable options. each will cause untold misery. >> i pick number three. >> you don't even want to read them first? >> i was elected to lead not to read. >> well, okay. again, intentional or not this is to jeff's point that punch lines don't become presidents. >> i think the problem with cain right now goes to the whole scanned with the women and sexual harassment issues he was saying give me real questions. i don't want to talk about this. let's focus on policy. now he is getting questions

outside of 9-9-9 and he can't handle it. he is not able to parry and be flexible and talk about anything else. that is coming out. we're asking him and our colleagues are asking him serious questions and he can't answer them and then he is saying things like i'm a leader not a reader. >> it's one of those things, a fun line but when you think about it -- do we want this person to be president? >> right. >> jennifer, it goes beyond just kind of what herman cain has said. it feels like the campaign while always somewhat chaotic the wheels are starting to come off. the best example, yesterday there was a big back and forth over the new hampshire union leader. very influential endorser in nape inner the state of new hampshire which as we know is an early primary state. he no showed for the interview. whether he canceled or they canceled we're not sure. joe mcquaid is the not -- he is not a wilting flower. let's say that. the publisher of the union leader. said he was not concerned about cain not showing up. it's politics and campaigns and then dropping the hammer on

herman cain. i don't think he is going anywhere from here at this point anyway. how much does it look to jeff's point? the 15 minutes -- has the alarm gone off for herman cain, the 15 minutes is up? >> i think it was ticking down before the sexual harassment scandal hit. i actually think that kind of suspended things for a bit. because many conservatives, not this one, but other conservatives felt the need to rally around cain. this was the main stream media, politico is part of some grand plot to get him. >> even though the allegations have been -- >> and even though he acknowledged many of the allegations. >> the most amazing part. >> so i think what happened is that the polls didn't immediately tank. people felt this rally around cain sentiment. now that we're essentially beyond that, although it's still looking in the background and you hear from time to time from gloria allred for example, i think we're now returning to the reality, which is that herman cain is not a knowledgeable

person. we're not even talking about the president. not sure he reads the newspapers. he doesn't have a basic working knowledge of the world, of america. i think he is virtually done. >> how concerning is it -- you talk to lots of republicans. how concerning is it, we had frank lavin on and he said, well this is a process. how concerning is it for republicans that this is -- looking at -- herman cain is still a top tier candidate. >> i don't think it's going to last very long. i think it's on its way down and they've been artificially pumped up because of this phenomenon they spoke about. i actually am not bothered because that's what a primary is about. it's about weeding out people and we're certainly going to do that. we've had people call him up. michele bachmann, rick perry, now newt gingrich's turn. and these people come up the ladder. they get a lot of scrutiny. they can't hack it. then they're done. that is i think how the process is supposed to work. >> we will be back with all three of you shortly, but it's trivia time. we asked, who was the oldest senator ever sworn in for a first term?

i did not know this. the answer is rebecca felton who was 87 years old at the time she was appointed way back in 1922. she was also the first woman to occupy a seat in the u.s. senate. and she served for 24 hours while the senate was in session. we'll be right back. you're watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. from the. we don't want anything to slow us down so it's surprising that most women aren't getting enough calcium. with over 25 flavors, yoplait original gives you 50% of the daily value of calcium in every cup. did you hear sam... ...got promoted to director? so 12 seconds ago. we should get him a present. thanks for the gift basket. you're welcome. you're welcome. did you see hr just sent out new...

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let's bring back our panel. jennifer reuben and jeff johnson. you had to have your name start with a j to get on the panel this morning. i was struck. i was reading the "washington post." there was a great quote from max baucus. really expressing frustration with this souper committee process. he said compared with thousands who have given their lives and

service to this country, i think it's tragic and speaks volumes that politicians are too worried about their jobs in order to reach an agreement. that seems like the prevailing sentiment with five days left. it doesn't feel like a deal is in the near. what does this say about congress? >> it's not a new sentiment. is the sentiment that the american people have been having for the last two years. and so i don't think it's new. i think that the american people are tired of it. i think it's going to be a long weekend for a lot of folks in washington. the real question is what do senate democrats in particular where they want to have a fight. what are they willing to put something on the table. until then, they are at a weak space. not because they are wrong, but because they are something on the plate. >> jennifer reuben, agree or disagree? >> i think this is a fundamental disagreement about the way our country should be run. republicans believe in smaller government, want to take the tax

base down to a reasonable number. democrats want a larger government. they want more taxes to pay for it. that's a legitimate, fundamental issue. it's not going to get resolved in a super committee. it's a legitimate argument. it's not fair to say to politicians that they are afraid for their jobs. republicans really believe raising taxes would be a bad thing. >> it's not the method of engagement that's the problem. that's what i hear from the statement. the believes are valid, but at what point do the idea logical believes get in the way? >> people are principled. they don't want to compromise on that issue. >> the one thing i wonder about is that the idea that the day after november 9, 2012, the american people have sent a mandate of exactly what they want is a little worry isome.

>> can i add to that? >> sure. >> the one thing that's missing is this is in the post story too. they have time. there's a deadline, but they get things done when the world is about to end the next day. like something gets done. >> the debt ceiling. the budget deal. >> the tarp. say what you will about everything. but the fact that there's not a hard falloff the cliff deadline next week. >> the reality here is that even if no deal is reached, the sequestration don't kick in until january. they probably just chose that date relatively randomly. very quickly. the one thing that everyone agrees with is that the 2012 republicans are united against the super pack. newt gingrich, rick perry, mitt romney. they have all spoken against it. smart strategy? >> probably. i think they are making the

point that president obama is missing in action. he really is this week. he's a continent away. he's taking no part in this. he hasn't put forth his own proposal. he didn't really do that in the debt negotiations either. if i were there, i would have my own plan. we wouldn't have to delegate to congressmen. i'd have a plan and go to the country and sell it. >> it's probably smart at this point. shameless plugs. >> this weekend tomorrow the mustangs. my son is in the super bowl. >> i can get behind that. pea wee football. >> joel mason, great reporter. first day at the radio show. good luck. on xm. good luck. >> jackie. >> we talk about the debates as

the great widowing factor. it's actually one man, andy ferguson, senior editor for the weekly standard. he's written pieces. he wrote one on newt gingrich. it's like the curse. >> my shameless plug is to the folks at the "daily run down" who make this look easy for me. thank you for having me. see you soon. happy thanksgiving. s that it for this edition. have a wonderful weekend. before you do that, coming up next is chris jansing. stsm.y nt. pegm®stti he o i stsm.y nt. si e bantewicl®

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